Thermostatic valve structure



March 13, 1934. J. H. GRAYSON THERMOSTATIC VALVE STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 21, 1931 2 She ets-Sheet 1 w \1 m w March 13, 1934. J H RAYSON 1,950,721

THERMOSTATIC VALVE STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 21, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet, 2

pipe connections required is reduced to an abso- Patented Mar. 13, 1934 THERMOSTATIC VALVE STRUCTURE John H. Grayson, Lynwood, Calih, assignor to Grayson Heat Control, Inc., Lynwood, Calii., a. corporation oi. California Application January 21, 1931, Serial No. 510,075 5 Claims. (01. 236-48) This invention relates to thermostatic valve structures generally, and more particularly, a combination burner and thermostat for gas burning water-heaters.

Thermostatically controlled water heaters are usually equipped with a gas burner in the heating chamber below the tank and a thermostat separate and distinct from the burner installed in the side wall of the tank and arranged to control the opening and closing of a valve for delivering gas to the burner. This arrangement naturally entails considerable .labor and ingenuity in the assembling of the heater so as to get the thermostat properly connected with the burner and, of course, necessitates a lot of pipe connections that are not only unsightly but are apt to give trouble through leakage when the heater is in service. Obviously, thearrangement referred to meant high cost. It is therefore the principal object of my invention to provide a thermostatic valve structure adapted to be embodied in a burner to form a combination burner and thermostat as a unitary assembly. This facilitates assembling because one operation is all that is required to assemble the burner on a heater with its thermostatic valve structure as a part thereof, and the number of fittings and a conventional water heater, the tank of which is shown at 11 having the usual heating chamber 12 below the bottom 13 with which the usual flue 14, extending upwardly through the tank, has communication so as to carry off the waste products of combustion. A plate 15 closes the bottom of the chamber 12 except for the central opening 16 to admit the primary and secondary air to the burner to support combustion, and, of. course, the usual legs 17 are provided for the support of the heater at the desired elevation with respect to the floor. A sight hole or window is provided at 18 in the side wall of the chamber 12 and at 19 I have illustrated a bafl'ie whose purpose is to deflect the flame of the burner upwardly into more intimate contact with the tank bottom 13 for efflcient heating. The use of such a baflie is, however, unimportant because with certain burners and special designs of water heaters it would not be necessary. As stated above, it was heretofore common practice to provide a burner in the chamber 12 separate and distinct from a thermostat installed through the side wall of the tank at some point above the heating chamber, and, of course, also separate and distinct from a valve forming part of the same unit with the thermostat and arranged to be controlled thereby to control the delivery of gas to the burner. That arrangement was unsatisfactory for numerous reasons, as was outlined above. For one thing, the thermostatic valve unit was necessarily fully exposed on the side of the. heater as well as the pipe connections leading to and from said unit. Then, too, the pipe leading from the valve had to be extended down the side of the tank 9 and under, the tank to the burner, which meant numerous pipe fittingoperations and aside from detracting from the appearance of the heater meant just that many more places where there was apt to be gasleakage. In the case of a snap action thermostat, where a pilot light is used in connection with the burner, there was, of course, that additional set of pipe connections that had Fig. 3 is a view similar "to Fig. 1 showings. unit to be taken care or between the valve and the of modified or alternative construction; I burner. These various objections are avoided by vFig. 4 is a vertical section through the unit] the unitary construction of the burner and thershown in Fig. 3; and v mostat provided in accordance with my invention, Fig.5 is an isolated view of a part adapted (or as will now be described. use with the unit shown in Fig. 4, illustrating The burner 20 and thermostat 21, together witha different construction. the valve 22 controlled by the thermostat, are 105 similar reference numerals are applied to cormade up as a. unitary assembly. namely, the unit responding artsthroughout the views. 10 previously referred to. Thebumer 20 com- Referring first to 1 and 2, the combinaprises a cast tubular body 23 having its upper tion burner and thermostat unit, indicated by the end threaded, as at 24. topermit mounting the reference numeral 10, is illustrated as applied to same in a spud or bushing 25 in the tank bottom no lute minimum. However, while the invention .is concerned with the embodiment of the thermostatic valve structure in a burner, it should be understood that the same is capable of use independently of a burner and is furthermore not limited to use on a water heater or-any other specific gas appliance.

The invention is more fully described hereinafter as reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which"- Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of a' water heater equipped with a combination burner and thermostat made in accordance with my invention:

Fig. 2 is a vertical, longitudinal section through the unit showing the same substantially full size;

13. The body 23 is internally threaded at its. upper end, as at 26, so that the tubular element 27 of the thermostat -21 can be threaded therein whereby to seal the burner from the tank and utilize the burner as a support. for the thermostat. The thermostat extends directly upwardly centrally in the tank so as to be subjected to the. heating of the water. The thermostat has the usual plug 28 closing the upper end of the tube 27 and in this plug the rod element 29 of the thermostat has its upper end threaded. The tube 27 is of copper or other material having a high coefflcient of expansiomwhereas the rod 29. isof invar or any other suitable material which has practically no expansion or contraction with temperature change. In that way, the rod is given upward movement in the expansion of the tube and downward movement in the contraction thereof for a purpose which will soon appear. It

is obvious that the installation of the thermostat in this novel manner permits the use of a thermostat of any desired length. That is to say, the thermostat can, by virtue of the present arrangement, be made as long as need be without regard to the diameter of the tank, which otherwise had to be taken into consideration. The mounting of the burner suspended from the bottom of the tank provides good support therefor and it is obvious that the assembling of the burner on the tank takes care of the installation of the thermostat in the same operation. The saving in labor cost which results from this novel arrangement must be self-evident.

The valve 22 has its hollow body preferably cast as an integral part with the body 23 whereby to provide the valve chamber 30 directly below the burner to be placed in direct communication with the burner when the valve proper, shown at 31, is opened. The valve 31 cooperates with a valve seat ring or spider 32 which, like the valve, is suitably of brass, and for that reason ,may be assembled in the cast iron valve body simply with a press fit. The ring 32 provides a central guide opening 33 through which the reduced lower end 34 of the rod 29 projects. The rod 29, it will be observed, extends through the burner 23 the full length thereof whereby to provide an operating connection between the thermostat 21 and the valve 31. The extremity of the reduced portion 34 fits into a socket-35 provided therefor in the valve 31 to communicate movement tothe valve against the action of a spring 36. The latter is a tapered coiled compression spring having its small upper end fitting about the boss on the valve in'which the socket 35 is provided and having its other end seating in a cap 3'7 threaded into the valve body. The cap serves as a removable closure for the chamber 30, and its removal permits removal of the valve for the purposes of cleaning and inspection and also permits adjustment of the thermostat with a screw driver arranged to be entered in the slot 38 provided in the lower end of the rod 29. o

In operation, when the temperature of the water in the tank dropssufliciently the contraction of the tube 2'7 results in downward movement of the rod 29 to open the valve 31. This results in the flow of gas from the valve chamber 30 directly into the burner. The gas issues-through jet openings 39 into the nozzles 40, air being entrained with the gas through the openings 41 to produce a Bunsen 'flame at each nozzle. The gas is delivered to the valve 22 through a supply pipe 42'connected thereto as shown. Holes are provided on opposite sides of the valve body to permit leading the supply pipe in from either side, and a plug 43 serves to close whichever hole is not used. After operation of the burner for a predetermined time, when the water in the tank attains a predetermined temperature suflicient to expand the tube 27 the requisite amount, the rod 29 is moved upwardly and allows the valve 31 to close under the action of the spring 36. It is evident that by the combination of the valve body with the burner and thermostat in one unit I eliminate all intermediate pipe connections between the valve and burner and accordingly reduce material and labor costs to an absolute minimum. It should also be clear that the combination of the thermostat, burner and valve enables the manufacturer of the unit to ship the same to a plumber for installation in a tank which the latter may have in stock, eliminating the skill required for the manufacture of an efficient automatic water heater, where the two principal devices,'namely, the thermostatic valve and burner are separate units, requiring considerable fitting and other assembling operations in the installation thereof.

In passing, attention is called to the boss 44 cast-integralwith the valve body adjacent the lower end of the burner. A by-pass hole 45 is drilled through the valve seat ring 32 into said boss to establish communication between the valve chamber 30 and a passage 46 communicating with the burner 23 on the other side of the valve. A plug 4'7 is threaded for adjustment in the outer end of the passage 46 to regulate the amount of gas by-passed through the hole 45 as is thought to be clear from the drawings. ,A removable cap 48 permits access to be had to the plug when it is desired to adjust the same. The thermostatic valve just considered is one of the graduating type in which the burner relies upon the bypassing of gas to keep it burning with a low flame when the valveis closed. In Figs. 3 and 4, I have illustrated a valve operating with snap action and in that case there is no need for the by-passing of gas 'to keep the burner lit, but a pilot light is provided in connection with the burner to take 'care of ignition whenever the gas is turned on under the control of the thermostat.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the unitlO', like the unit 10, consists of the combination of a burner 20','thermostat 21' and valve 22'. In thiscase, the body 23' of the burner 20 is also threaded at its upper end for suspension from the tank bottom 13 in the manner previously described and hasthe tube 27 of the thermostat threaded therein at 26 so that the burner constitutes a support for the thermostat and the latter extends upwardly centrally in the tank. The rod 29 of the thermostat extends downwardly through the burner 23' the full length of the latter for cooperation with the valve 22'. The burner'is of a special design in which the lower portion of the body is enlarged in a horizontal plane, as appears at 50, and has tips 51 inserted therein to direct the flame therefrom upwardly toward the tank bottom, therebeing other tips 52 on the other portion of the burner directing their flame horizontally and crosswise with respect to the flame from the tips 51, so as to spread the flame as much as possible to the full diameter of the tank bottom for most eflicient heating. With this design of burner there is no need for a baflle such as the one shown at 19 in Fig. 1. The advantages derived by the combination of the thermostat with the burner have been referred to above in the discussion of the unit 10.

The valve 22', asindicated above, is of a snap action type, which dictates the necessity for a e the body of the valve 22' through the cock 54.

i the valve stem 69. A series of ports 70 are pro;

The construction and mode of operation of the cock 54 is, of course, ,fully described in the other application and it will, therefore, suflice to state that it has a tum-plug 55 received in the body thereof arranged to be turned by means of a. handle 56 0 bring its port 5'7 into and out of communica on with the passage through the body. A longitudinal ore 58 is provided in the plug 55 and slidably eceives a tube 59 on the outer end of which the pilot burner 53 is mounted and through which the burner is supplied with gas from the cook 54. A bracket 60-fixed on the body of the cook 54 supports a bi-metallic thermostat (not shown) in proximity with the pilot burner and this thermostat has its lower end free and arranged to communicate movement to the tube 59 inwardly to close the port 5'? in the event the pilot burner 53 is extinguished. When the port 57 is closed there is, of course, no delivery of ,gas either to the pilot burner 53 or, to the valve chamber 30. In other words, the device is entirely shut off until the operator attends to the relighting. So long as the pilot burner is lit the thermostat holds the tube 59 retracted with respect to the port 5'7 and, of

course, that allows the flow of gas to the valve chamber 30' as well as to the pilot burner 53. An adjustable plug 61 is provided in the cock 54 to restrict'the passage according to the pressure available, so that the burner will operate most efliciently. This much descriptio is thought to be sumcient for an understandi r ofthe safety pilot gas cock, at'least for the present purposes.

The valve 22' has the body thereof suhzably cast integralwith the body 23 of the burner 20 so that when the valve 31' is opened the valve chamber 30 is arranged to be thrown directly into communication with the burner. The advantages oi. this unitary construction were discussed above in connection with the description of the unit 10. The valve 31' is arranged to be opened and closed abruptly under the control of the thermostat 21 and an actuator mechanism 62 provided between the valve 31' and the end of the rod 29. The mechanism 62 is similar to that covered in my Patent 1,744,465. The mechanism is contained in a bushing 63 threaded in a sleeve 64 which is inserted in the valve'body with a press fit. The parts 63 and 64 are cast of brass and, of course, the valve body and the body of the burner are of cast iron. The bushing 63, by virtue of its threaded reception in the sleeve 64, is arrangedto be adjusted in the setting of the device by simply removing a. cap' 65 which constitutes a. closure for the valve chamber and threading said bushing one way or'.the other by insertion of a tool in the ports 70, or in any other recesses provided forthe purpose in said bushing. The removal of the cap also permits the removal of the valve 31' for cleaning and inspection. The cap alsoserves to hold a spring 66 in position behind the valve 31' to urge the same toward its seat 67.0n the bushing 63; The bushing 63 not onlyprovides the valve seat but also has the guide opening 68 for vided in the bushing around the, guide 68 and, of

cou se, inside the circle defined by the seat 67. The bushing 63, furthermore, constitutes the support for the valve actuator mechanism 62, and the bushing 63, inaddition to being adjustable, byrvirtue or its threaded mounting, isremovable for purposes oi. inspection, cleaning, or replacement of parts of the mechanism 62. In other words, the whole working unit, consisting of the bushing, with its mechanism 62 and valve 31', is quickly and easily demountable. The mechanism 62, in accordance with my Patent 1,744,465, comprises a snap action diaphragm '71 of spring material resting on an annular shoulder formed in the bushing 63 of a certain diameter, resilient levers 72 resting on another annular shoulder in the bushing of a slightly larger diameter and a plunger 73 slidably received in the bushing behind the levers and having an annular shoulder on the face thereof bearing against the back of the levers near the outer ends thereof. convexo-concave and has the inner ends of the levers '72 bearing against the center thereof and.

arranged toapply pressure, to force the diaphragm over dead center, whereupon the diaphragm snaps over to concavo-convex form to open the valve 31 apruptly. The small screw mounted in the upper end of the stem 69 provides an adjustment whereby the desired clearance can be obtained between the diaphragm Z1 and the stem 69 so that the valve 31' will not com-. mence to open until the diaphragm is past dead center, at which time, of ,coursegthe valve is opened abruptly by the snap action of the diaphragm. It will be observed that holes 74 are provided in the diaphragm 71 and holes 75 in the plunger 73 so that gas can flow through the bushing 63 from the valve chamber 30' to the burner 20' when the valve 31 is opened.

In operation, when the water in thetank drops to a predetermined temperature the contraction of the tube 27 of the thermostat 21' causes downward movementof the rod 29 and when this movement is enough to cause the levers 72 to exert .the requisite pressure on the diaphragm 71 the latter is forced'past dead center and snaps to reverse curvature and opens the valve 31' for the delivery of gas to the burner. After the burner has operated a certain length of time and heated the water to a predetermined temperature the ex- 125 pansion of the tube 27 causes upward movement of the rod 29 and as soon as this movement is enough to relieve. the pressure on the diaphragm 71 to permit it to return to its normal curvature it snaps back and the spring .66 closes the valve just as abruptly as it was previously opened, thereby shutting ofi the flow of gas to the-burner.

In Fig. 5, I have illustrated a slightly difierent The diaphragm '71 is normally construction of the bushing 63 in which a bushing 63 is formed integral witha' cap 65', there turn the cap to bring the desired temperature next to the index mark, and, of course, there is no guesswork about the adjustment. Obviously,

since the cap 65' will not thread in the'body a compressible gasket of rubber .or the like will have to be provided encircling the cap in the bore in which the cap fits, so as to prevent gas leakage.

4 In the above description the burners have all been of the type cooperating directly with the '135 being webs '76 interconnecting these parts. The f tank bottom but in the case of water heaters of the percolator type it is obvious that the burner will be mounted on the bottom of the percolator and the thermostat extended upwardly therefrom through the percolator into the tank to serve the same purpose as outlined above. Obviously, the same advantages would result from suchan arrangement. 1

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of my invention and the appended claims have been drawn so as to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. A thermostatic valve structure comprising a casing having an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber therein, a bore in said casing between said chambers, a bushing inserted in said bore .constituting the partition wall between said chambers, a valve seat provided on said bushing in the inlet chamber, there being ports in said bushing circumscribed by the valve seat, a valve in the inlet chamber for cooperation withsaid seat, spring means normally urging the valve toward'ciosed position, a bore in said bushing constituting a valve stem guide, a valve stem received in. said guide, said bushing having an annular shoulder therein for supporting a valve actuator, a valve actuator in the form of a snapaction disc of spring material resting on said shoulder, said disc being normally substantially .convexo-concave in form but arranged when forced over dead center to snap to reverse curvature, whereby to engage the valvestem to open the valve, a plunger slidable in said bushing toward 'the disc and arranged to communicate amplified movement to the center of the disc for a given movement of the plunger, and a thermostat for communicating movement to said plunger, the disc and plunger each having one or more holes provided .therein for the passage of gas from the inlet to the outlet chamber when the valve is opened.

2. A thermostatic .valve structure comprising a casing having an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber therein, a valve seat separating the one the valve and thermostatic means and resting about the edges thereof on an annular shoulder between the inlet and outlet chambers, whereby it constitutes a partition diaphragm separating said'chambers, said disc being normally substantially convexo-concavein' form but being arranged to be forced over dead center by said thermostatic means to snap to-reverse curvature, the aforesaid valve being so disposed with relation to said disc to be opened when the disc snaps to reverse curvature, said valvebeing otherwise closed, said disc being constructed to permit the passage of gas through it from the inlet chamber to the outlet chamber when. the valve is opened.

3. A thermostatic-valve structure comprising acasing having an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber from the other, a valve in the one chamber therein, a valve seat separating the one whereby it constitutes a partition diaphragm separating said chambers, said disc being normally substantially convexo-concave in form but arranged when forced over dead center to snap to reverse curvature, the aforesaid valve being so disposed with relation to said disc to be opened when the disc snaps to reverse curvature, said valve being otherwise closed, and a plunger slidably received in said chamber. between said disc and thermostatic means and arranged to communicate amplified movement to the center of the disc for a given movement of the thermostatic means, the disc and plunger being constructed to permit the passage of gas from the inlet to the outlet chamber when the valve is opened.

4. A thermostatic valve structure comprising a casing having an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber therein, a bore in said casing between said chambers, a bushing-inserted in said bore constituting the partition wallbetween said chambers, a valve seat provided on said bushing in the inlet chamber, there being ports in said bushing circumscribed by the valve seat, a valve in the inlet chamber Tor cooperation with 'said seat, spring means normally urging the valve toward closed position, a bore in said bushing constituting a valve stem guide, a valve stem received'in said guide, said bushing having an annular shoulder therein for supporting a valve actuator, a valve actuator in the form of a snap-action element of spring material resting on said'shoulder, said element being normally disposed on one side of its dead center but being adapted when forced over dead center to snap to an opposite position, whereby to engage the valve stem to open the valve, and a thermostat for communicating movement to said snap-action element, the snap-action element being constructed so as to permit passage of gas thereby from the inlet to the outlet chamber when the valve is opened.

5. A thermostatic valve structure comprising a casing having an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber-thereima bore in said casing between said chambers, a bushing inserted in said bore constituting .the petition wall between said chambers, a valve seat provided on said bushing in the inlet chamber, there being ports in said bushing circumscribed by the valve seat, a valve in the inlet chamber for cooperation with said seat, sp n means normally urging the valve toward closed position, 'a bore in said bushing constituting a valve stem guide, a valve stem received in said guide, said bushing having an annular shoulder therein for supporting a valve actuator, avalve actuator in the form of a snapaction element pf spring material resting on said shoulder, said element being normally disposed on one side of its dead center but arranged when forced over dead center to snap to an opposite position, whereby to engage the valve stem and open the valve, a plunger slidable in said bushing toward the snap action element and arranged to communicate amplified movement thereto for a given movement of the plunger, and a thermostat for communicating movementto said plunger, the snap-action element and plunger being constructedso as to permit the passage of gas thereby from the inlet to the outlet chamber when the valve is opened. JOHN H. GRAYSON. 

